Time-stamp.



No. 777,890. 7 PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904.

W. I. FOLLETT.

TIME STAMP.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2- 1904.

N0 MODEL. v 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' Fig.1.

No. 777,890. PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904.

W. I. FOLLETT.

' TIME STAMP.

- APPLICATION FILED TAN. 2. 1904.

NO MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. F134 5 UNITED STATES Patented December 20,1904.

VVIL'BUR l. FOLLETT, OF MENDHAM, NEW JERSEY TIME-STAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,890, dated December20, 1904:.

Application filed January 2, 190%. Serial No, 187.391

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILBUR I. FoLLE'rr, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mendham, county of Morris, State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Time-Stamps, of whichthe following is a specification.

The objects of this invention are to improve and cheapen theconstruction of apparatus of this class, to make it accurate and certainin its operation,and while providing for protection of the time-movementor clock-train from the shocks and jars incident to the use of thetimestamp to positively control the hour, minute, and meridian wheels bythe clocktrain. Other organizations of the prior art have had the sameobjects in view, and this invention comprises improved organizationshereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a rear elevation; Fig. 2, anelevation from the rear With the rear plate and parts in front thereofremoved; Fig. 3, afront elevation with the front plate removed; Fig. 4,a side elevation; Fig. 5, a front elevation; Fig. 6, a plan view. Fig. 7shows a development of the hour, minute, and meridian wheels. Fig. 8 isa section on the line A A of Fig. 2, and Fig. 9 is an enlarged detailedview of the escapement of the hour-wheel.

This time-stamp mechanism is to be inclosed in a suitable casingprovided with. an appropriate platen and die-plate and the ordinaryrotating part or parts containining special Words, such as Received,Answered, &c.; but these several features have not been illustrated, asthey are common and well known, and illustration thereof would only tendto multiplication of sheets of drawings.

As shown, the frame comprises afront plate a, a rear plate 6, and anintermediate plate 0, all connected by suitable posts or transverse rodsand serving for the supports and bearings of the various parts. Aspring-barrel (Z, having at one side a gear 0, surrounds a winding postor shaft f and contains a fiat coiled spring g, one end of which isattached to the shaftf and the other to the drum, Fig. 3. The reactionof the spring thereof tends to impart rotation to the shaft f in onedirection and to iminute-wheel (1, fixed on the shaft /11..

the drum (Z in the reverse direction. The gear a meshes with a pinion 72on a shaft 6, carrying a larger gear 7., that meshes with a pinion l onthe minute-shaftm of the time-stamp device. On the rear end of the shafton is loosely mounted the toothed escapement-wheel a, and also fast onthis end of the shaft in juxtaposition to the escapement-wheel is theratchet-wheel 0, engaged by the spring-controlled pawl 72, pivoted onthe side of the escapcment-\vlieel, the arrai'igement being such as topermit rotation of the shaft and ratchet-wheel in one directionindependently of the escapement-wheel w. The minute-wheel q is fast onthe shaft m, and alongside of it, mounted as hereinafter described, arethe meridian-wheel r and the hourwheel .9.

The shaftf, to which the inner end of the coiled mainspring isconnected, is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow and hasloosely mounted upon its rear end the gearwheel t and adjacent to it andfast on the shaft f a ratchet-wheel a, engaged by a pawl c, pivoted onthe side of the gear 25 and pressed against the ratchet by a spring 20.This is an ordinary winding arrangement. The gear t meshes with thepinion a on a shaft y, having also fast upon it two gear-wheels z and l,which engage gears 3 at, attached to the sides of the meridian and hourwheels 0' 8, Figs. 4 and S. The meridian-wheel r'is mounted upon a hubprojecting from the inner face of the back plate 7), while thehour-wheel is mounted upon a similar hub projecting from the rear faceof the intermediate plate 0. The minute-wheel shaft on of the time-stamppasses through both of these hubs, and between them is located the Themeridian and hour wheels are therefore separately driven, but from thesame end of the mainspring, whose reaction rotates the drum (:1, and theminute-wheel is separately driven from the same mainspring, the innerend of which effects rotation of the shaft f. As indicated by thearrows, the meridian and hour wheels revolve in one direction and theminute wheel in the opposite direction. As shown in Fig. 7, thehour-wheel is provided with numerals from 1 to 12 and from l to 12again. The meridian-wheel is provided with meridian-letters A. M., P.M., and M., there being one such provision of meridian-letters for eachnumeral on the hourwheel opposite which they are respectively arranged.

On a suitable shaft extending between the front plate a and theintermediate plate 0 are mounted the month Wheel 5, the two day- Wheels6 7, and the year wheel 8. These wheels are to be provided with theusual detent or bank pawls working in toothed wheels at their sides andmay be operated by hand when required or otherwise, as may be desired.Since the characters they must carry are few in number, they arepreferably made of much smaller diameter than the hour, minute, andmeridian wheels.

At the front concentric with the minutewheel shaft m is the usualclock-face 9, at the end of the minute-wheel shaft is the minutehand 10,and on the bushing 11, surrounding the end of this shaft, is thehour-hand 12. The bushing frictionally embraces the shaft and carries agear 13, connected, through a gearand pinion on a short stud-shaft, witha pinion 14 on the shaft m, this being the ordinary train for drivingthe hour-hand. The front end of the shaft y is provided with athumbpiece 15, by which it may be rotated to simultaneously set the hourand meridian wheels and hour-hand 12. The minute-wheel may be set byrotation of the minute-hand 10.

The clock-movement designed to be inclosed in the casing of thisapparatus (which, however, is not shown) is to be located at the rear ofthe mechanism described and is to direetly control the minute-wheelescapement. The teeth of the minute escapement-wheel n are inclined onthe rear side and on the front or leading side are straight in radiallines extending from the axis. This is the preferred construction. Theescapement-lever 16 has the usual pallets 17 18 at its ends that engagethe teeth of the minute escapement-wheel and is mounted on a rock-shaft19, from which projects a downward-extending arm 20,forked or slotted atits lower end, and in the fork or slot of which works a pin 21 in theface of a part or wheel 22, that is rotated once in every two minutes bythe clock-train, which is not shown, except that in Fig. 4 the shaft 23,driven by the clock-train, is indicated. The rotation of the shaft 23and wheel 21 serves to carry the downwardly-extending arm 20 to therightfor instance, as viewed in Fig. L-until the upper pallet of theescapement disengages the tooth of the wheel, the lower pallet thencatching the adjacent tooth in the rear thereof, so that theminute-Wheel is advanced but one step. Continued rotation of the part orWheel 22 finally carries the arm 20 to the left, permitting the lowerpallet of the escapement-lever to disengage a tooth'of the wheel,whereupon the upper pallet catches the next tooth adjacent to it, thewheel having again moved but one step. v

Projecting from the face of the ratchetwheel 0 on the rear end of theminute-wheel shaft m is a pin 24, that comes against the tail 25 of apivoted escapement-lever 26, having pallets 27 28, that engage the teethof the hour escapement-wheel 29, loosely mounted on the rear end ofshaft 1 and connected with the shaft through a ratchet-wheel 30, [ixedon the end of the shaft and engaged by a springpressed pawl 31, pivotedon the side of theescapement-wheel. The depth of the pallet 27 is suchthat when the pin 2% lifts it by acting on the tailpiece 25 as theminute-wheel comes into position to print 59 the pallet is not quitelifted out of engagement with the tooth against which it lies, andconsequently as the minute-whcel comes into position to print 60 or 00the further movement of the pin 2 L serves to disengage pallet 27 fromthe tooth of the wheel. The work of liftii'ig the pallet 27 through thedesired range of movement is divided between the two steps of theminute-wheel in turning up to 59 and The other pallet of the escapement-lever 26 is pivoted and controlled by coil or other spring 32,so that when the pallet 27 disengages the wheel the spring-patlet 28 issufficiently advanced to catch the tooth traveling toward it and yieldssufiiciently to permit such rotation of the escapementwheel as to permitthe passage of a single tooth on each actuation of the escapement-lever,which occurs once in each revolution of the minute-wheel.

Experience has demonstrated that the organization above described is apractical and efficient one for accomplishing the ends sought by thisinvention. The construction may, however, be varied in detail by thoseskilled in such matters without departure from the invention.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a time-stamp, the combination of a drivenminute printing-wheel, its shaft, its escapement-wheel loosely mountedon the shaft, a ratchet-wheel fixed on the shaft, a pawl connecting theescapemntwheel and the ratchetwheel for simultaneous rotation in onedirection, a driven hour printing-wheel, its escapement-wheel, a toothedeseapement-lever cooperating with the esemaement-wheel of the minuteprinting-wheel, a time-actuated part that positively aetuates saidescapementlever, a toothed eseapement-lever cooperating with theescapement-wheel of the hour printingwheel, and a projection on theratchet-wheel of the minute printing-wheel adapted once in eachrevolution thereof to trip the escapement-lever of the hour-wheel.

2. In a time-stamp, the combination of the minute printingwheel, aratchet-wheel in fixed relation thereto, an escapement-wheel IIO IOface, having hour and minute hands, an operative connection between theminute-hand and the minute printingdvheel by which the latter may be setby the former, and a shaft for setting the hour printing-wheel.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub- 15 scribed my name.

'WILBUR I. FOLLETT. Witnesses:

KATHARINE L IAoMAHoN, YVILLIAM A. STAHLIN.

